Chapter 30: Curtain Call

"Your reasoning is basically correct. So, the Sequence Eight demonic elixir in your body has been fully digested, right?" the angelic crow said lightly.

Leikè Dùn nodded: "Was this also within your calculation?"

"I only provided the appropriate guidance; being able to roughly infer the events in such a short time is your own ability," the angel shook his head and answered Leikè Dùn's question.

He then added, "The role‑play of a reasoning trainee requires you to discover and infer on your own; if someone else simply tells you the relevant information, it goes against the role."

"Similarly, your previous idea of digesting the Sequence Nine Reader demonic elixir by force‑feeding knowledge won't work, because the Reader's focus is to read and master, not merely to acquire knowledge; skipping the reading process defeats the role's purpose," the other side also took the opportunity to educate Leikè Dùn about his cheating notion of quickly digesting the Reader elixir through knowledge injection.

Leikè Dùn was not at all surprised that the other knew he had previously tried to digest the Sequence Nine demonic elixir by knowledge injection; for an angel of the White Tower Path, a casual glance fully exposed his information before the other.

In this path, Sequence Three is called the Insightful One; before a high‑sequence extraordinary of this sequence, secrets are hard to exist.

"Was that person in the hospital a blood clan member? Did he jump to the adjacent path's Sequence Four: Ancient Alchemist?" Leikè Dùn, riding the angel's eagerness to answer, asked other questions he was curious about.

"Exactly. Did you guess after noticing the stitching marks on the clown? Or did you infer from his recent loss of control? He is a very charismatic blood clan, but unfortunately, he has been polluted," the angel said.

"Both. After seeing the stitching marks on the clown and the Earth Church's odd attitude, I had some guesses, and only just now were they confirmed," Leikè Dùn replied.

Recalling the abnormally intense desire on the way to the hospital, Leikè Dùn hesitated and said, "The Primeval Moon?"

"Why do you think it's the Primeval Moon?" the angel, instead of directly answering, asked curiously.

"Because of that abnormally strong desire we just encountered, and you said he was polluted; plus blood clans habitually worship the moon, so I guessed it's the Primeval Moon. He may have had a problem in his moon research and belief, leading to contamination by the Primeval Moon," Leikè Dùn explained his speculation.

"Not entirely correct, but the contamination indeed originates from the Primeval Moon. However, it wasn't an accidental exposure; he actively sought the contamination. Normally blood clans don't switch paths, so this amounts to abandoning the blood clan identity, which for them is no different from renouncing their faith," the angel refuted Leikè Dùn's reasoning about why the blood clan viscount was polluted.

He then added, "But if you know the ancient name of the Sequence Four Ancient Alchemist of the Mother Path, perhaps you could guess why the other is willing to renounce faith, abandon the blood clan identity, and switch to this path."

"Ancient name? 'Classical Alchemist'? That's not quite right. I recall another ancient name, something like 'Human Body Alchemist'! The other is trying to resurrect someone," Leikè Dùn said, his eyes brightening as he looked at the angelic crow, feeling the facts matched his thoughts.

"Exactly. Is there anything else you wish to know? My consciousness is about to depart; this location is very special, and I cannot be discovered appearing here at will," the angelic crow nodded and said.

Leikè Dùn pondered briefly, then asked tentatively, "May I know your honorific name?"

The angel, without much hesitation, nodded in agreement: "Sure, I'll give you the honorific name I used when I was in Sequence Three. I have many duplicates scattered; as long as you pray within the range where a duplicate exists, I can be known."

"Kin of knowledge and wisdom, ancient guardian, eye that perceives the world, sage seated in the heavens, guardian of reason and knowledge."

As the voice faded, the phosphorescence emanating from Ya Si coalesced into a solid glow, and the angel then flapped its wings, swallowing it whole.

"Your reward will be delivered later by this duplicate. This place is rather sensitive, and my appearing here at this time makes it even more so; it will cause unnecessary trouble. I must leave; the subsequent matters no longer require my involvement," the angel said. The crow's blue‑white eyes reverted to their previous gilt, and it spread its wings and flew away.

Leikè Dùn noticed that the Ya Si he had thrown onto the ground showed no sign of waking, but its chest was still rising and falling, indicating it was still alive.

To be honest, Leikè Dùn was very curious about how the angel had extracted the extraordinary traits from the living Ya Si, and Ya Si looked completely calm, without any sign of frenzy.

The high‑sequence extraordinaries of the Reader Path wield a myriad of bizarre and exotic secret arts.

Sitting on the ground to rest, Leikè Dùn could always hear a buzzing from the dense forest behind him and the sound of soil being turned over; he instinctively felt that the area was undergoing more than simple plant and animal mutations—it seemed the region itself was undergoing horrific transformations.

Not daring to linger, he hoisted the fallen Ya Si off the ground and headed toward the Knowledge Church.

He hadn't gone far before he saw the captain and others; not only Mr. Kesi was here, but also Xiya and Jessica, along with some Knowledge Church members, and a few Public Security Bureau personnel, all assisting the residents' relocation.

Most of the residents here wore pallid, haggard faces, eyes filled with deep fear, numbly following the church staff farther away.

But many people did not wish to leave; they claimed there was no danger here, only that some trees in the distance had suddenly grown overly luxuriant.

This place is not only their home but also their greatest asset for surviving in the city; without it, many could not afford the high rent and family expenses.

"No, I won't go. There's clearly no danger here, so on what grounds do you use a non‑existent excuse to trick us into moving! This is our home!" shouted a middle‑aged worker protecting his wife and children.

This is the place his family has lived for decades; his income only covers the bare minimum for his household, and without this home they'd quickly become homeless.

He cannot allow this to happen; he must defend his home.

These aren't isolated cases; it's a widespread phenomenon. Many of them originally lived in the more mutated inner zone, not the outskirts, having been covertly relocated by the Earth Church and Knowledge Church to surrounding areas.

Now not only have they lost their original homes, but even the temporary shelter they're currently in is about to disappear. Most of them wear numb expressions, and under the church staff's guidance they are being moved away from the area.

Yet Leikè Dùn sees no light in their eyes; they seem to have lost hope for the future. Though their past lives may not have been blissful, they still had a reason to strive. The sudden upheaval has extinguished that fragile light.

In that instant, Leikè Dùn felt a weight in his heart, as if for the first time he truly understood the meaning of the original novel's line, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

(End of Chapter)